When Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley was negotiating with the city of Los Angeles in 1957 over the deal that would take the Dodgers out of Brooklyn, he and a county supervisor took a helicopter ride over Los Angeles to look for potential stadium sites. When they flew over the undeveloped 300-acre lot at Chavez Ravine, surrounded by freeways and within sight of the downtown skyline, O’Malley is said to have pointed and asked, "Can I have that one?" The supervisor replied, "No problem."

Dodger Stadium was baseball’s only privately financed stadium built since Yankee Stadium (1923) and until Pacific Bell Park (2000). Until Denver’s Coors Field was built in 1995, Dodger Stadium and Chicago’s Wrigley Field were the only National League parks built exclusively for baseball. The Los Angeles / California Angels shared Dodger Stadium from April 17, 1962 until September 22, 1965. The stadium was known as Chavez Ravine when the Angels were playing there.

Dodger Stadium Trivia:

A classic pitcher’s park.

No drinking-water fountains when first built.

Original design had a huge fountain in center field, like that in right-center at Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium.

Designed by architect Emil Praeger to be expandable to 85,000 seats.

When foul poles were installed in 1962, it was discovered that they were positioned completely foul. A special dispensation was received from the National League so that they were recognized as fair, but the next year the plate was moved so that the poles are now actually fair.